


Addiction - A Tale from Order 66

by SuleikasGhosts13



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Clone Trooper Inhibitor Chips (Star Wars), Drug Addiction, Jedi Mind Tricks (Star Wars), Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Morally Ambiguous Character, Order 66
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27532009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuleikasGhosts13/pseuds/SuleikasGhosts13
Summary: As the Clone Wars draw to a close, Jedi Knight Tenya Ta'Obi tries to help a dear friend overcome his addiction to death sticks.
Kudos: 2





	Addiction - A Tale from Order 66

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, I missed ALL of my deadlines.
> 
> No worries, I'm still working on the Beyond the Storm series, I'm just being a perfectionist about the latest chapters.
> 
> In the meantime, enjoy this short from a few years back that I never published.

"I can't handle it anymore, Master Ta'Obi! I- I need your help," cried the husky voice over the intercom.

"Calm down, Rogbert, I'm on my way," answered the racing Balosar. Now was not the time time to correct him that she was merely a knight. "Tell me your coordinates and I'll be with you shortly."

"I'm outside the Outlander in the Uscru Entertainment District," Rogbert sounded jumpy. "Please hurry."

Tenya Ta'Obi hailed an air taxi driven by an elderly Nimbarel. "Evening, pal. Anywhere special tonight?"

She grimaced. "Know the Outlander Bar?"

"In Uscru? Of course!" With that, the cabbie took off at frightful speeds. "Pretty hopping juicer, that is. Didn't realize Jedi were allowed to have fun."

Tenya curled her long locks between her fingers, a nervous tick her master constantly scolded her about. It was such an obvious tell. "We can cut loose every now and then, although the elders would prefer we meditate instead."

For a moment, she reminisced on all the times she went dancing with her fellow Padawans in the lower levels and the disapproving looks they got when they returned to the Temple in the morning. But out of their Jewish robes, nobody batted a glance in their direction. It was oddly liberating to be average teenagers for a change.

"I wish this were for a happy occasion," she added.

"Ah, Jedi business, then?"

Tenya sighed, shaking her head. She wasn't sure why she was opening up to the driver, only that he seemed to be in a listening mood. "Afraid not. I'm meeting with my cousin."

"You're still in touch with your family?" The old man asked incredulously.

The brunette couldn't help but bark a laugh. "Well, I **_only_** met him recently."

"Oh?"

"I ran into my mother and aunt at Dex's Diner one day, and he was with them. They're Coruscanti, you see, and I was old enough to remember their faces when I joined the Order. He's a bit younger than me, though, and..." her smile faded.

"Troubled?"

"You could say that," the Jedi Knight replied. "He's a really good kid, yet easily persuaded."

"Your cousin got into deathsticks, didn't he?"

Tenya nodded, but remembered that the driver couldn't see her. She exhaled deeply. "Quite intuitive of you, sir. Are you sure you're not Force sensitive?"

The Nimbarel huffed, "Spend enough time around the bad spots of town and you'll catch on quick. There's been more than one occasion I had to administer first aid for an overdose."

Tenya didn't inquire further. Images of Rogbert strewn across the pavement, twitching as he was being helped by this kind senior or some other faceless Good Samaritan, plagued her mind. So they spent the rest of the ride in silence.

"Ah, here we are!"

The Outlander Club was aglow with bright red and yellow strobe lights. The front entrance was bombarded with drunk and unruly clone troopers.

"Clones. I **_hate_** clones," grumbled the Nimbarel driver. "Blasted cheapskates skipping out on their fairs..."

"Thank you for your haste, sir," she quickly placed the Republic credits in his palms- plus tip.

"Always happy to oblige a Jedi," he tilted his hat and sled off.

"Eh, eh, it's the Commander!" Shouted one soldier, pointing at her with an empty bottle. He belonged to a large crowd from the 314th, and the Jedi recognized him as a man called Texas. She had briefly worked with his battalion during the recent Battle of Coruscant.

"Good evening, Private Tex," she nodded in acknowledgement. She hadn't really been in charge, just happened to be a Jedi in the right place at the right moment when the fight commenced. Not that she was eager to correct him, either. There were more important matters to attend to.

"Looking for Roggy?" Oh **_right_** , her cousin had been with her when the Separatists' ships leapt from hyperspace above the planet. Joining the 314th, she'd shouted at him to hide in the barracks whilst the invasion raged.

Tex thumbed behind him, shaking his head. "He's in the back alley. Seems terribly anxious."

Tenya thanked him and dashed through the club. There were a few startled shouts from a Twilek couple, but the Knight paid them little thought.

In comparison to the vibrant entrance, the back to the establishment was completely desolate, save for a solitary figure in the shadows. Moving into the fluorescent streetlight, she saw that he was a gaunt teenager with heavily lidded eyes who shuffled from one foot to the other. Rogbert.

"Oh, finally!" He rushed forward, "Master Ta'Obi! Am I glad to see you- I was about to-"

"But you didn't. And now you won't," Tenya soothed, raising her hand. "You don't want to use tonight. You want to go home and sleep it off. You want to wake up in the morning and visit our mothers. You want to cook them a big, hearty breakfast. You don't want to use tonight."

"I don't want to use tonight." Rogbert's eyes glazed over.

"That's right."

"I don't want to use tonight." He nodded and strolled in the direction of his apartment.

"Goodnight, cousin," she sang after him.

"That has got to be the most disturbing scene I've ever witnessed," Tenya spun around to find Tex leaning against the backdoor. "You had the kid acting like some sort of droid."

"I was merely assisting him," said the knighy defensively.

"You really didn't give him much of a choice," the clone countered.

"Rogbert made his decision when he asked for my help," she retorted. "Addiction is an overwhelming foe. I only added more weight to his vow."

"That's your opinion. Personally, I wouldn't want someone having complete control over- hold on, I'm getting an emergency signal." He tapped his helmet.

A pause. Tenya glared at him wearily. Tex's demeanor suddenly changed.

"Yes, yes. It will be done, my lord."

By the time the buckethead aimed his blaster, the lady Balosar already had ignited her purple lightsaber.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally part of series, "Tales from Order 66," each following an original Jedi or clone character.
> 
> If this is something you'd like to see more of, comment below.


End file.
